"Papa? Papa, are you here? Papa?!" Rose ran into the castle with the Huntsman and the wolf following. The castle was dark and dusty; it had been empty for some time. She didn't even have to search the place. They entered the main hall. The spinning wheel in the corner had been in the middle of making gold. A tear slipped out of Rose's eye.

"He's not here…" she whispered.

"…So we came all this way for nothing." the Huntsman said. He was angry. He had wasted several days of his time and energy, and it was all for nothing. Rose turned to him.

"I'm so sorry, Huntsman," she said. "I'm so so sorry. I really thought he would be here."

He was silent for a minute, then he shook his head and turned to leave.

"W-Wait, where are you going?" Rose asked.

"Back to the forest where I belong," he said. "I got you home, that was the extent of our deal. This is where I leave you, Rose."

"But… But you can't just leave me here alone!" she called after him. "What am I supposed to do?!"

"That's for you to decide," he said as he walked away with the wolf following him. "Good luck to you." And he left before she could say more.

Rose stood alone in the huge castle. Her mother was locked in the dungeons, her father was missing, her guide and only friend had deserted her. She couldn't stop herself. A lump formed in her throat and she couldn't swallow it. Her lip quivered and tears lined her eyes. She sank to the ground and cried, cried for her losses, for how nothing was going right, and for something she had realized when the castle had come into her sight.

Today was her 15th birthday.

Rose remembered her pipe, and she pulled it out and looked at it. She held it to her lips and played a song that her parents sang to her on her birthdays. Halfway through the tune she began to sob again, becoming furious with the world. She made a movement to break the pipe in half, but she stopped herself.

She stood up and looked around. Rumple had always kept treasures on display as long as she could remember. But one display stand was different. Where a golden goblet once stood, there was now a white and blue tea cup with a chip in it, and next to it was a small glass bottle of ashes. Rose remembered the tea cup. Her father often used it at tea, infact refused to drink tea in anything but that. She went up to the stand and placed the pipe next to the cup.

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"You're late," Mr. Gold said as Danielle walked into the shop.

"Yes, I know, I'm sorry," Danielle said. "I went to see Dr. Hopper, about the dreams I've been having."

"Ah," he nodded. "What did he say?"

"…I was overreacting," she shrugged. "They're just dreams."

"…I see," he said. "…Well now that you're here, you can start dusting. I'll be in my office." And he went through the curtains.

Danielle started cleaning up the shop. She hadn't said anything to Mr. Gold because she wasn't sure how to bring it up. What was she going to say? And what if it wasn't true at all, what if she really was crazy? She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. She didn't know how to do this, but she knew in her heart that she wasn't crazy.

She came to a shelf of small trinkets and picked them out one by one to dust them off with a rag. And then she came to something. It was small, no longer than her hand, and roughly carved of wood. It was a little music pipe.

Danielle wiped it off with the rage and then used an air can to blow the dust out of the inside. As the air passed through the pipe, it made a sweet little sound, and she smiled at it. When she finished cleaning it, she glanced at the entrance to Gold's office, then raised the pipe to her lips and blew.

Like a tidal wave, her memories came rushing back to her. Her mother, Belle. The queen who had locked her away. Jefferson and Grace who had helped her. Thomas and the boys in the street. The huntsman and his wolf. The rabbits. The castle, the gardens. Rumplestiltskin. She remembered. She remembered it all.

The memories hit her with such a force that she fell back into the wall and dropped the air can and the pipe. She sorted through her thoughts. There was so much to take in all at once. But it was real. She remembered. She wasn't crazy.

Mr. Gold stuck his head out of the office.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, having heard the clattering and then sudden silence. Danielle didn't answer. He sighed. "Danielle, if you spacing out is going to be a regular thing, then—"

"Danielle is not… my real name… is it?" she asked slowly, not looking at him. There was a long pause.

"I… I don't know what you mean." He said. He was lying, she knew it.

"Danielle is not my real name, is it?" she repeated, louder and more confident. She looked up at him. He looked so happy, so relieved, but he was trying so hard to hold it together.

"No." he said, shaking his head. "No, it's not."

Danielle half smiled. "I guess this explains why I don't look like Mo—Regina," she said.

He nodded.

"…And you know," she continued. "You knew the whole time. That's why you bought the hot dogs for me, why you drove me to the forest when I asked, why you've been helping me out so much."

"Yes," he nodded. "Yes that's why. I knew who you were the second you ran into me that day."

Danielle nodded and stood up. She turned to him and saw that his eyes were lined with tears. She smiled and walked up to him, her own tears surfacing.

"It's alright. I remember now," she said. "I remember you… Papa."

He let out a shaky sigh and smiled, a tear escaping his eye. She wiped it away, and at the same time, they hugged eachother tight, not intending to let go any time soon. He was quietly crying now.

"My little girl," he whispered. "My beautiful little girl…"

"Papa…" she smiled and started crying as well.

For a few minutes, they just stood there, holding eachother close, quietly crying. After so many years and thinking they would never see eachother again, they were finally together. At long lasts. And they never wanted to be apart again.

"It's going to be alright," he said as they finally pulled away. "We're together now, and everything's going to be alright." And he kissed her head like he had when she was a child. She smiled and they hugged again.

"I love you," she said. He smiled wide and his embrace got a bit tighter, as if he feared she would slip through his fingers like she had so many times in his dreams.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

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Rose was going to stay at the castle, alone or not. It was her home after all, and she could clean up for when…if Rumple came back. And she didn't want to leave for fear that Regina might find her and lock her in the dungeon again. So she stayed at the castle, and taught herself how to clean and how to cook, thanks to her mother's cook books.

And then the wolf came back.

It had been six months since Rose had seen anyone, and somehow she had kept her sanity. She was outside picking some wild flowers when the grey wolf with the different colored eyes came into the clearing. For a minute they just sat there, staring at eachother. Rose then smiled at him and held her hand out to him, beckoning him to come to her. He looked at her for a long moment before he trotted over. She smiled and patted his head and scratched his ears.

"Where's the Huntsman?" she asked. The man was nowhere to be seen. The wolf was always by his side. Where was he?

At the mention of his companion, the wolf's ears lowered, and he whined sadly. Rose looked at him.

"…Did he leave you too?" she asked, and the wolf whined again. Rose looked at him and patted his head again. "It's alright, we can stick together."

The wolf perked up and almost smiled.

"Now," Rose smiled. "We're going to need a name for you. How about… Gray Boy?"

The wolf shook his head.

"Wolfie?"

Another head shake.

"Hunter?"

He looked at her and almost smiled again.

"Alright then, Hunter," she said, "Welcome to my home."

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I'm baaaaaack!

OMG Danielle remembers! And the reunion you were all hoping for! I hope you guys are happy, I know I am! We are nearing the end, people can you believe it?! I'm so excited! No spoilers. See you guys in the next chapter!

Hugs and loves,

darkonesroses